Apparatus for construction of cylindrical tanks



July 25, 1967 F. LUEGER 3,332,135

APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF CYLINDRICAL TANKS IN VEN TOR F RA NZ Lukssn ATTORNEY F'- LUEGER July 25, 1967 APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF CYLINDRICAL TANKS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 13, 1964 U m N rgngR N 0 v T vE .T W u A LW w m F Y B United States Patent APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF CYLINDRICAL TANKS Franz Lueger, Libussagasse 7/3, Vienna, Austria Filed Nov. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 410,950 8 Claims. (Cl. 29-200) The present invention is directed to a new and novel apparatus for constructing cylindrical tanks for liquids and the like, and more particularly to an apparatus for constructing such tanks by using the assembled top portion of the tank as an operating platform, with the apparatus constructed to successively raise the tank top portion as the height of the tank side walls is increased, offering decided advantages over known construction apparatus presently used in the art.

As a general rule, at present, apparatus for erecting tanks for liquids in one of the following manners is normally used for assembling tanks of relatively large cylindrical size which are usually constructed in the open for storing liquids and the like:

(1) The top portion of the tank is first assembled and connected with the top row of shell plates forming the sides of the tank. The succeeding rows of shell plates are added from below which necessitates lifting the completed portion of the tank higher each time another row of shell plates is to be added. For this mode of construction apparatus such as, a large number of winches, cranes, construction scaffolds, etc., are required.

(2) The bottom portion of the tank is first assembled and the bottom row of shell plates is connected thereto. The following rows of shell plates are then successively connected to the top of the preceding row of plates until the required height is reached. As a last phase, the top portion of the tank is placed in position by external apparatus.

(3) The tank bottom and top portion are first assembled in overlying relation. The top portion of the tank is used as a working platform for the assembly of the individual rows of shell plates from the bottom upwardly. By admitting liquid such as water into the completed-bottom portion of the tank, the top portion which is supported by floats, is lifted to the required height.

The disadvantages of the first two mentioned construction methods are chiefly in the requirement of expensive auxiliary equipment, such as lifting tackle, construction cranes, scaffolds of steel or timber, with many unskilled laborers, etc. Furthermore, the tank, during its construction, is exposed to heavy wind loads against which .an adequate protection is hardly possible and very expensive.

Part of the expensive equipment required for the first two methods can be dispensed with when constructing a tank according to the last mentioned method, but filling the tanks with liquid, especially for large tanks, takes a consider-able amount of time as it is a slow process and the method is difiicult to perform in winter due to the danger of the liquid freezing and damaging the completed portion of the tank. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide economical and safe apparatus for erecting tanks for liquids, particularly tanks of the largest capacities, in a novel manner, which eliminates all of the previously mentioned disadvantages in the presently used apparatus and construction methods.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel winch means suspended from the upper edge of the tank and connected with the tank top portion for constructing tanks for storing liquid and the like which enables the top portion of the tank to serve as a working platform and which successively raises the top portion as additional rows of plates are added to the tank.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for erecting cylindrical tanks which provide support to the tank structure at the base and adjacent the top edge throughout the erecting procedure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction of apparatus for erecting tanks in which a portion thereof forms part of the construction of the tank top assembly.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a construction of lifting apparatus for use in assembling tanks which is easily engageable and disengageable with the top edge of the tank plates and top portion of the tank.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the detailed description of the invention set forth in the specification hereinafter following by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a cylindrical tank under construction with the apparatus of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, foreshortened, schematic representation of a fragmentary portion of FIG. 1, showing the apparatus of the invention for lifting the assembled top portion of the tank.

This invention is directed to apparatus for constructing cylindrical tanks for liquid wherein the side Wall of the tank consists of one or several rows of connected shell plates. The top portion or assembly of the tank is first constructed on the bottom portion of the tank. Then the first row of shell plates is connected to the bottom plate or portion and succeeding rows of shell plates are added one after the other, working upwardly, by using the top portion of the tank as a working platform for the workers connecting the shell plates in position. The top portion of the tank is lifted mechanically upwardly during the erection process as the height of the sidewall increases from successively connected rows of shell plates to maintain the workers in position adjacent the point the plates are being joined. This is accomplished by lifting winches which are anchored, in a manner which provides easy disconnection, to the upper edge of the top row of shell plates already assembled in position, and also connected to the assembled top portion of the tank in a manner which provides easy separation and removal of the winches therefrom when the tank is fully constructed. By operating a plurality of lifting winch means connected about the circumference of the top portion in this manner the top portion is lifted such that it is suspended inside the tank from the top row of plates.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, in FIG. 1 the bottom portion 2 of the tank, the top portion or assembly 3, and several rows of shell plates 1 forming the sides of the tank, are shown already completed. The top row of shell plates, as shown, is still in the process of being connected in position and is not yet completed. The top portion or assembly 3 of the tank, which serves as a working platform during the construction of the tank, is lifted Within the tank by lifting winch assemblies 5, 6, 8 connected between the top portion 3 and the upper edge of an already completed row, and/or a partially completed row of shell plates 1.

The lifting winch assembly preferably consists of a gear box 5, operated by a hand crank in the usual manner and a rack gear 6 having a hook portion 8 connected on its upper end. The hook portion 8 is suspended on a fork-like hooking device 7 which is slipped on to the upper edge of the shell plate 1 from which the hook 8 and rack 6 are to be suspended. Hooking device 7, therefore, serves as a mount for hook 8 and also serves to protect the upper edge of the shell plate. Hooking device 7 and hook 8 are easily disconnected from the upper edge of a plate merely by raising the same.

The top portion 3 of the tank is normally constructed with supporting trusses, as shown, and a plurality of radially extending top girders 13. Each gear box of a lifting winch device is provided with anchor plate means 4 connected at the ends of the radial top girders 13. These anchor plate means are preferably U-shaped, as indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 1, such as to form a box structure having an open top and bottom and embracing the ends of radial girders 13. These anchor plate means form part of the construction of the top portion 3 of the tank while at the same time serving as a means of temporarily connecting the gear box 5 of the winches to the top portion of the tank. The gear boxes 5 of the lifting winch mechanisms are inserted through the open tops of the U-shaped anchor plate means 4 so as to be positioned between the arms of the U-shaped plates. Withdrawal pins 9 inserted through the arms of the U-shaped anchor plates 4 and gear boxes 5 then serve to securely anchor the gear boxes to the top assembly 3. A plurality of gear boxes are connected about the circumference of top portion 3 in this manner at the ends of the radial girders forming the top portion.

The gearing within gear box 5 terminates in the gears disposed in engagement with rack gear 6. With a plurality of lifting winch devices connected in this manner between top portion 3 and the upper terminating edges of the shell plates 1, as the winches are operated by their cranks or the like, gears 10 meshing with rack gears 6 travel up the latter, thus raising the entire top assembly.

When a shell plate 1 is to be connected at a point where a hooking device 7 and hook 8 are engaged, that particular winch is rotated in reverse direction raising the associated rack gear 6 and the hook connected thereto, to such a height that a shell plate can be installed and connected in place at that point. When the shell plate is thus connected the crank on the winch is rotated to again lower rack gear 6 so that it is suspended from the upper edge of the shell plate by its hook mechanism. Further rotation of the crank with a corresponding cranking of the other winches would then lift the entire top assembly to a higher level.

A platform (not shown) may be constructed on the upper surface of top portion 3, if desired, to enable the workers to stand at the proper heights. This platform of course would move integrally with top portion 3. A simple hauling device or crane (not shown) may also be mounted on top portion 3, preferably by hinged connections, to the circumference of the top 3 such that a short boom on the hauling device will overhang the assembled shell plates for the purpose of hauling up individual shell plates 1 from ground level to the height at which they are to be installed.

When the tank shell is constructed to the desired height the top portion 3 of the tank is connected to the top-most edge of the shell by using the outer portions of the U-shaped anchor plate means 4 as connection plates. The gear boxes of the winch mechanism are removed from the anchor plates 4 by removing pins 9 and disengaging the hooks 8 from the top edges of the shell plates 1 at the end of the construction procedure.

Rollers 11 are connected for rotation to the sides of anchor plate means 4, as shown particularly in FIG. 2, so as to roll along the inner surface of the already assembled shell plates 1 as top portion 3 is lifted. These rollers maintain a slightly spaced relation between the shell plates 1 and top portion 3 and at the same time, since they are connected about the circumference of the top portion they provide support for the top portion of the tank shell during its construction to prevent damage thereto by heavy wind loads and the like. The rollers may be removed at the completion of the construction before the anchor plate means are rigidly connected to the uppermost shell plates 1.

While the lifting winch assemblies 5, 6, 8 are illustrated as being operated by hand crank mechanisms, they are preferably operated by electrical motor means, not shown. The roof crane connected on the top portion for hauling shell plates into position from ground level may also be operated by electrical energy.

While the invention has been shown and described in certain preferred embodiments it is realized that modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and no limitations upon the invention are intended other than those imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. Assembling apparatus for use in constructing tanks of the type having a tank shell consisting of plural rows of sequentially connected shell plates and a tank top assembly comprising: a plurality of anchor plate means connected at spaced intervals about the circumference of the tank top assembly, individual gear box means connected to each of said anchor plate means, upwardly extending gearing means removably secured to the upper edge of shell plates connected in the tank shell, said gear box means connected for movement along said upwardly extending gearing means, said gear box means spaced about the circumference of the tank top assembly, upon operation, travel up said gearing means, whereby said gear box means lift the tank top assembly and suspend it from the upper edge of the tank shell.

2. Assembling apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said upwardly extending gearing means comprise hook means adapted for easy connection and separation to the upper edge of a shell plate, and a rack gear connected to said hook means and movably engaged with said gear box means for relative movement therebetween upon operation of said gear box means.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said tank top assembly includes a plurality of radial girders and said anchor plate means are U-shaped and embrace the ends and sides of the radial girders.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said tank top assembly includes a plurality of girders, and said anchor plate means are box shaped embracing the ends of the girders, said box shaped anchor plate means having open tops, and said gear box means connected in said box shaped anchor plate means through the open tops.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including withdrawable pin means connecting said gear box means to each of said anchor plate means.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including roller means journaled on said anchor plate means and adapted to extend into rolling contact with the inner surface of the adjacent tank shell.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which said rack gear extends through said gear box means whereby said gear box means is selectively positionable along the length thereof.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which each said gear box means is positioned between the arms of the U-shaped anchor 'plate means, and withdraw-able pin means extending through the arms of the U-shaped anchor plate means and said gear box means thereby connecting said members for easy separation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,071,246 2/ 1937 Allen 29-200 2,355,874 8/1944 Laird 29431 2,554,768 5/1951 Allen 29431 JOHN F. CAMPBELL, Primary Examiner.

THOMAS H. EAGER, Examiner. 

1. ASSEMBLING APPARATUS FOR USE IN CONSTRUCTING TANKS OF THE TYPE HAVING A TANK SHELL CONSISTING OF PLURAL ROWS OF SEQUENTIALLY CONNECTED SHELL PLATES AND A TANK TOP ASSEMBLY COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF ANCHOR PLATE MEANS CONNECTED AT SPACED INTERVALS ABOUT THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE TANK TOP ASSEMBLY, INDIVIDUAL GEAR BOX MEANS CONNECTED TO EACH OF SAID ANCHOR PLATE MEANS, UPWARDLY EXTENDING GEARING MEANS REMOVABLY SECURED TO THE UPPER EDGE OF SHELL PLATES CONNECTED IN THE TANK SHELL, SAID GEAR BOX MEANS CONNECTED FOR MOVEMENT ALONG SAID UPWARDLY EXTENDING GEARING MEANS, SAID GEAR BOX MEANS SPACED ABOUT THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE TANK TOP ASSEMBLY, UPON OPERATION, TRAVEL UP SAID GEARING MEANS, WHEREBY SAID GEAR BOX MEANS LIFT THE TANK TOP ASSEMBLY AND SUSPEND IT FROM THE UPPER EDGE OF THE TANK SHELL. 